January 9, 2009

ADDED: Meanwhile, Blagojevich went jogging, but he stopped to say: " Let me simply say I feel like the old Alan Sillitoe short story 'The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.' ... And that's what this is by the way, a long-distance run."

Didn't Blago compare himself to a literary character on some earlier occasion? I wish I could remember. This tendency invoke fictional characters to describe how you feel — is it a bit nutty, is it wily? What does it signify?

He ended by quoting from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Ulysses": "We are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

32 comments:

I suspect it will be open season on the Dems who are vulnerable to political outing as corrupt by their fellow Dems. I remember all the stories about the criminal/pirate gangs who after the heist was completed next wanted to cut the number of shares to be distributed. He /she who is left standing the longest gets to be the Head Lion. I predict Diane Feinstein will surprise Boss Reid and join the Obama team.

He could have chose a better-known text but I think the idea was to present himself as literate.

I don't know if this is appropriate but his facial structure looks a little like a Neanderthal's. Is it possible that some Neanderthals do still exist among us, and that Blagojevich is actually one of them, and like the movie says, he just isn't getting any respect for conducting himself as one?

Was the literary reference an attempt to distance himself from his Neanderthal-esque blundering about, and to show that he's on the same page with the rest of America?

John, that's the protocol in Illinois, too. From the Illinois Constitution:

ARTICLE IV. THE LEGISLATURE.SECTION 14. IMPEACHMENT The House of Representatives has the sole power to conduct legislative investigations to determine the existence of cause for impeachment and, by the vote of a majority of the members elected, to impeach Executive and Judicial officers. Impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting for that purpose, Senators shall be upon oath, or affirmation, to do justice according to law. If the Governor is tried, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators elected. Judgment shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold any public office of this State. An impeached officer, whether convicted or acquitted, shall be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment according to law.

Hate to think the media and the impeachment was the result of a Duke lacrosse-like lynch mob orchestrated by a sleazy prosecutor being taken at his word that "he has the guilty fingered beyond all doubt" and that a horrific crim happened.But it does happen, and not just with that North Carolina piece of excreta, Mike Nifong.

Fitzpatrick has already had one case where he lied in what he said in his leaks, knew from the start who the source was, but then sought to entrap others into "lies".

It would be interesting if Blagojevich did something all elected execs do and no crime was committed. What then, does the legislature hold "unimpeachment proceedings" in 6 months? If Blago is not convicted?

"This tendency [to] invoke fictional characters to describe how you feel — is it a bit nutty, is it wily? What does it signify?"

Well, even with Blago, there comes a point where a cigar is just a cigar. It may but doesn't have to signify anything more than he liked the book or the character and saw something of himself in it. I suppose the default position has to be that he drew the analogy because he saw a similarity.

Before you get all Freudy/Jungy/deconstructy/whatever, shouldn't there first be something more than just his use of a literary comparison to get the game going?

That press conference was surreal. Blago on the dais with a couple of American flags and a small gaggle of unfortunates, including a fellow in a wheelchair, telling his tale of standing like St. Blago against the besieging Saracen horde, doing great works for the little people despite the opposition of the Illinois legislature. Fox News' Shepard Smith was beside himself, talking over Blago's filibuster and demanding, "What about selling the Senate seat? What about shaking down a children's hospital? What about trying to get journalists fired?" And you know that to Shep and the media, the latter was probably the worst of the three.

Still, you have to admire Blago's chutzpah. He's certainly been entertaining, definitely the best side effect of the election of Barack Obama as President. And if he gets more kids to read classical literature, well that's just one more human service he's done along with helping poor women get mammograms and poor kids get organ transplants.

A question for the lawyers out there: If the Illinois Senate convicts Blago and removes him from office, does that mean that the Feds wouldn't be able to try him on the same charges due to double jeopardy? Is it possible that a clever lawyer could argue that and get him off scot-free on the federal charges?